U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers reported a series of arrests and drug seizures across several New York border crossings during the recent holiday weekend.
At the Port of Buffalo, officers made four arrests, while one arrest occurred at the Port of Champlain and two more at the Port of Massena. The Peace Bridge crossing was notable for intercepting over four kilograms of marijuana in two separate shipments. One shipment was labeled as “sea cucumbers,” while another had packages sewn into a jacket.
On August 29, CBP officers at Champlain encountered Maximus Padilla, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen with an active felony warrant for kidnapping from Clarkstown Police Department, New York. After confirming the warrant through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), Padilla was handed over to New York State Police.
The following day at Buffalo’s Rainbow Bridge crossing, Luis Avellanet Rivera, a 29-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested after being found with multiple firearms, ammunition, and magazines. He was charged by state police with felony criminal possession of a weapon.
At Massena Port of Entry on August 30, two individuals were taken into custody: a 31-year-old North American Indian woman charged with possession of a controlled substance by state police; and later that day, a 57-year-old Canadian woman wanted on a dangerous drugs warrant from Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Florida was processed for extradition.
On August 31 at Rainbow Bridge crossing, CBP officers detained a 32-year-old U.S. man wanted for assault in Stroud, Pennsylvania; he was turned over to state authorities.
September 1 saw further arrests at Lewiston Bridge crossing: A 46-year-old U.S. man with an NCIC warrant for probation violation related to traffic offenses in North Carolina and a 47-year-old U.S. man wanted for obscene material possession from Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Florida were both processed and transferred to New York State Police for extradition.
"I want to commend our dedicated officers for their exceptional work over this busy holiday weekend,” said Assistant Director Field Operations Buffalo Richard Roberts. “Their vigilance and commitment to securing our nation's borders resulted in multiple successful arrests and narcotic seizures at our ports of entry. These actions underscore our unwavering focus on protecting the homeland and disrupting illegal activities that threaten our communities. I am proud of the professionalism and teamwork displayed by our personnel, and we will continue to uphold the highest standards in safeguarding our borders."
The NCIC is an automated database used by law enforcement agencies nationwide to share information about outstanding warrants covering various offenses such as homicide or robbery among others. According to CBP officials, previous use of NCIC data has led to arrests involving serious crimes including money laundering and military desertion.
CBP describes itself as America’s largest law enforcement organization responsible for unified border management across land, air, and sea domains.
